The solar month of Cancer (June 21 - July 22) ushers in the Summer Solstice. It gives us the longest days and shortest nights of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The Sun's apparent path around the Earth (via the Ecliptic) has reached the Tropic of Cancer, 23 degrees above the Equator. We now enjoy the warmth of summer and the gifts of the garden. However, we begin to lose a few minutes of light each day until day and night are equal again at the Fall Equinox.

Our ancestors would celebrate with all-night bonfires during the Solstices. It didn't take much observation to realize that without the Sun and its warmth, nothing would live and flourish. The Sun has always been associated as a giver of life, strength and vitality. When it moves through the sign of Cancer we recognize the feminine gender in its gift of life - motherhood and nurturing the family.

Before humans realized that biological acts created babies, women were naturally worshipped and honored for their magical abilities to grow fat bellies and give birth to another generation of life. As human-made religions evolved, the matriarchy was replaced with the patriarchy. The natural Goddess was replaced with the religious God. The natural senses of the flesh were made taboo and falsely conditioned to be the fault and temptation of the feminine.

The lessons of Cancer, and its polarity Capricorn, are balancing both the feminine and masculine gender and energies. Neither can survive without the other. Every soul on the planet must realize that both male and female are contained within it. The distortions of equality between men and women have existed for so long most souls cannot even recognize it. Natural femininity is still strong, and natural masculinity still has an emotional body.

Cancer is ruled by the Moon and together they represent our emotions in all their depth and range. The Sun's passage through Cancer brings the annual opportunity to address our emotional body and find an inner emotional self-reliance. In the long run, our outer world is only as stable as our inner world.

Today we are taught to suppress the emotional body (the senses) at the expense of developing our mental and spiritual bodies. How often have we seen spiritual leaders and intellectual geniuses experience the downfalls of denying the emotional/physical body and it's senses? It comes out as sexual distortions like rape and child abuse, or substance addictions. Evolution takes place through the emotional body, not in denial of it.

The Sun's journey through Cancer brings up our emotional suppressions. One of the deepest issues is the original anxiety that comes from birth and the separation from the all nurturing womb. Society has realized that children who are nurtured and held closely early in life turn out to be much healthier as adults. Our westernized societies tend to devalue motherhood and long-term pregnancy leaves. In spite of talk to the contrary, bombs have more priority and funding than nurturing energy, education and books.

Most souls are left to figure out on their own in adulthood that they must learn to deeply love themselves first before they will really have successful, loving relationships and careers. This can be a painful process. It could be lessened dramatically with societal values that appreciated real nurturing, starting with human touch and then food, clothing, shelter and education of all children. It really does take a community to raise a child. Our societies would be much healthier and less war-like if these were the real values within each society.

Emotionally self-reliant children become emotionally mature adults and contribute to society rather than take from it. It is easier to build a child than repair an adult. The Evolutionary Astrology mantra for Cancer is: I evolve emotionally with self-responsibility.

Eventually, all souls realize that deep, inner self-love is the most important thing they can accomplish. We are each responsible for our own emotional needs even in the very best of relationships. Sun in Cancer allows all souls to nurture their inner child no matter what age they have become. The souls who learn to do this break the chain and then help their children become emotionally self-reliant. They balance both their feminine and masculine needs, and create natural gender roles.

The watery sign of Cancer initiates these emotional lessons. In the depths of this discovery, one comes to understand the most important lesson is the unconditional love of self. This then leads to the ability to unconditionally love others. Each and every time a "negative" emotion comes into your life is an opportunity to love your self more completely.

A few days after Uranus starts its annual retrograde cycle of reviewing and searching for our unique, unconditioned self, Jupiter retrograde makes the second of three waxing squares to Saturn. This happens June 22 at 9/10 degrees Scorpio-Leo. The first waxing square was December 16, 2005 and the last one is October 25 at 23/24 degrees Scorpio-Leo.

Jupiter and Saturn can represent the bridge between our inner world and outer world. They are also the pathway between our conscious self and unconscious self. They help us manifest our life and release what is outworn and no longer necessary. The waxing (first quarter) square pushes us to let go of the past and move forward. It is a crisis in action, and with Jupiter-Saturn we are compelled to move forward in society somehow.

Jupiter is the intuitive right brain on a conscious level. It is how we start to tap in to the larger forces in life and grasp the abstract. We sense a personal truth for our self, and hopefully, go on toward broader, universal truths. Jupiter's year-long passage (October 25, 2005 - November 23, 2006) through Scorpio lets all of us get to our emotional bottom line based upon our personal belief systems. Beyond that is insecurity.

The emotional depths of Scorpio can be an unsettling place to visit and Jupiter attempts to make sense of these periodic emotional eruptions from the depth of our soul. It is the need to face our limitations and evolve beyond them. Jupiter can be helpful if Scorpio can let go of the need for control.

This is where Saturn comes in at the waxing square, forcing a showdown between the emotional past and future with Jupiter. Saturn has its own security issues with the unconscious planets (Uranus, Neptune and Pluto) always knocking on the door of our individuated consciousness. However, with Jupiter, Saturn usually gets the last word.

Jupiter can visualize all it wants. Those dreams and ideas must manifest through Saturn, the tracker of our space/time reality. Saturn has completed one of its two retrograde cycles during its journey in Leo (July 16, 2005 - September 2, 2007). Saturn is the structural nature of our individuated consciousness and in Leo it is all about me, me, and me. Our world is naturally revolving around our self. It is about redefining our creative realities which for most souls is our work and career. It is finding out what makes us tick and letting the creative juices flow.

Saturn's domain over the boundaries of our consciousness creates its own need for security and consistency. There isn't a whole lot of security in the outer, collective world today. This leads to the need for deeper understandings. Jupiter doesn't have any problem standing up to Saturn and asking it to try another point of view. When our outer world is in chaos one of the lessons is looking inward. How do we create inner security?

This is the test Jupiter in Scorpio waxing square Saturn in Leo faces. Where is our next level of inner self-reliance and security today in this fast-changing world? From that new depth within our self we will manifest our desires and creativity. This is a lesson all through 2006.

Jupiter in Scorpio asks us to merge with whatever we perceive to be more powerful than us without becoming dependent upon it. We must find the next level of self-empowerment. Saturn in Leo asks us to manifest our own creative expressions within the context of our collective realities. Bottom line: how can I be secure and still evolve into the new as the world changes faster than I can keep track?

The initiating conjunction of the 20-year cycle these two planets weave in manifesting and releasing life began in May, 2000 at 22/23 degrees Taurus. The original impulse in the latest Jupiter-Saturn dance is all about inner self-reliance regardless of what is happening in our personal world and the world at large. Some of their lessons lead us to realize that substituting the material world for a relationship with Source is a poor and ultimately insecure tradeoff.

Jupiter (growth) and Saturn (decay) teach us about the natural cycles of life. Birth, growth, full bloom, decay and death to start all over again is a timeless nature story. It is evolution. Jupiter and Saturn allow us to understand this on a conscious - I get it! - level. Their waxing squares currently create a crisis to manifest our life in new, inwardly-secure patterns. This will allow us to ebb and flow in the material world as necessary. May you be most successful.

Venus moves into Gemini on June 23 for the next three-plus weeks. Right along with this Jupiter-Saturn waxing square is Venus leaving its own sign of rulership in Taurus. Taurus is the inner side of Venus (Libra is the outer side of Venus). Now we take our evolving self-reliance into the world and relate in a variety of new ways.

Venus in Gemini becomes the communicator. These are my needs and this is what I want. Let Venus help you through the beginning of this emotional solar month. Entertain new ways of meeting your needs. Sun in Cancer and Jupiter in Scorpio join Saturn in just wanting to feel secure. Uranus just turning retro in Pisces (June 18) can bring up plenty of emotional outbursts. What does it mean? What are we going to do about it? What values really are most important?

Venus in Gemini can process through the confusion of all these emotions. What are the deepest feelings that keep coming back? That is where to start the healing process. Can you take your self to the next level of inner emotional self-reliance? Think back to a former insecure time and how you made it through. Project that energy forward. You can do it again, even better than before.

The New Moon of Cancer is June 25 at 3-4 degrees. Here is the Sun passing through the Moon's sign of rulership and now meeting the Moon in Cancer. This is an annual time for emotional renewal, especially of the self-reliance kind. We get to revisit our deepest emotional needs and understand them in a new way. How can you love your self better?

Anywhere adults find love lacking is an opportunity to love them self more unconditionally. Life presents us with endless chances to fall in love with our self, go for it. Honor the childhood emotions deep down within. How can your maturing understanding of your childhood help you heal yourself?

When we experience cycles of emotional withdrawal there is usually something triggering our need to go within and figure things out. Honor these cycles as best as you can. All your emotions are valid and have meaning. We get to take self-love to the next level this solar month.

Mercury enters Leo on June 28 for two weeks as it is slowing down to turn retrograde on July 4 barely into Leo. The Cancer-Leo interface takes us from water to fire, or from our emotional body into our spiritual body. When we become emotionally self-reliant we can go out into the world and create in much healthier ways.

When our childhood emotional needs are not met then we recreate those emotional dynamics in our life, creating displaced emotional needs that are projected onto partners. No wonder we marry our "parents!" Mercury enters Leo to allow us to recognize those unmet needs. Wait a minute! My needs count and I have a right to have my needs and desires met. The lesson is learning to fulfill them our self.

Mercury in early Leo, slowing down, almost forces us to mentally focus on our self, our needs and our life. What isn't working? Now is the time for that to be pointed out. As Mercury continues to slow down and reverse itself back into Cancer for a month, ask for objectivity to see your own role in satisfying your self. Your partner (or parent or child or friend, etc) is not responsible for your needs. No one will ever love you or meet your needs better than you. What are the new ways in which you can do this throughout the summer?

Saturn makes the third and final waning sesquiquadrate to Pluto retro on June 29 at 10/11 Leo - 25/26 Sagittarius. The first two aspects were September 9, 2005 and January 1, 2006. The waning sesquiquadrate initiates the disseminating phase of growth in the circle/cycle. There is a struggle between how we want to personally do something in the world, and how the world would like to see us do it. This is the lesson of learning how to bring our talents fully into the world in useful ways. Society will not reward us until we do.

All souls balance a need to fully individuate and yet get along with others. It in only natural for communities to establish rules, laws, norms, customs and taboos in order to get along with each other. Distortions can come when communities and countries dictate right/wrong to the exclusion of allowing any individual expression. We also find distortions when communities dictate the belief system individuals must subscribe to in order to be accepted, and perhaps stay alive.

Pluto's long passage through Sagittarius (1995-2008) is exposing just how conditioning groups and countries can get over our belief systems. Saturn in Leo wants a right to individual expression of its own beliefs. The clashing of individual versus collective beliefs isn't very pretty these days.

Citizens in many areas of the world literally put their life and freedom on the line to express their disagreement with collective norms, laws and beliefs. Women are still killed over the slightest exposure of a little skin, or venturing out into public without a male family escort!

Saturn in Leo would like to stand up and be counted on its own right, and be able to feel safe in doing so. The United States has watched one branch of its government ignore constitutionally-protected rights of its citizens. If its citizens are too interested in self (Leo) without also considering the collective rights as a whole, we will continue to see those long-held rights eroded.

This Saturn-Pluto waning sesquiquadrate works both ways in Leo-Sag. There are areas of life where citizens need to stand up for individual rights, i.e. freedom of personal beliefs and civil rights in the United States as they are chiseled away. There are areas of life where citizens must individuate and still be a part of the larger whole, i.e. environmental responsibilities regardless of governmental policies.

This aspect (waning sesquiquadrate) tends to be a power struggle, and Saturn-Pluto is very familiar with the need and desire to be in control. Power clashes tend to erupt and judgments are made. Pluto in Sagittarius wants harmony with natural laws. Those who repeatedly ignore natural laws and principles find Mother Nature having the last word - think Katrina here which happened when the first waning sesquiquadrate took place.

Individually, we get to realign our personal creative expressions with the needs of the planet. We may search for beliefs that merge the physical and metaphysical, such as quantum physics revealing the manifest and unmanifest to be two sides of the same coin. This is the individual freedom Saturn in Leo can actualize when it understands Pluto in Sag natural laws.

We realize we have the freedom to create our world in every way. When we encounter something we perceive to be out of alignment with what we are, we can persevere to create different ways of looking at things. We change our inner world to change our outer world. We can learn to be in society, function in society and yet not be of society. We individuate without conformity.

Saturn in Leo must realize that Pluto in Sagittarius will always mirror our energy back to us. Sometimes this is not a pleasant thing to look at, and yet we must look at what we dislike in our life to truly have the freedoms we desire. Once we learn how to do this individually we can become caretakers in the world helping out with universal changes.

We are all balancing our need for freedom with obligations - family, friends, work and society. Any areas of frustration are opportunities to metamorphose your personal limitations into greater self-empowerment. There are broader ways of looking at any situation that bring relief. How can you step back and realize this in your life?

The Sun makes a waning trine to Jupiter retrograde on June 30 at 9 degrees Cancer-Scorpio. This can be another emotional wave, and it can go either way. Emotional upsets and/or betrayals can burst forth. We can find greater emotional harmony than we have had for awhile.

It will all depend on what you have been emotionally energizing in your world, and to what degree you have energized from a base of self-reliance (versus co-dependency). When we allow, or project, others to be responsible for our needs, we set ourselves up for possible emotional pain and disappointment.

This is the solar month to heal our inner child and mature into responsible emotional interactions. If you are experiencing anything less, you have self-love lessons. This waning trine aspect can bring messages from the outer world on where you need to grow up. Sun-Jupiter can be a wonderful love fest when we fill our own well with nurturing energy. We become much better attractors, bringing in other souls doing the same thing. Emotional self-reliance creates deep, fulfilling soul bonding.

Venus makes a waning sextile to Saturn on July 2 at 10/11 degrees Gemini-Leo. Here is Venus showing Saturn all the different ways we can look at life. Wherever your reality seems stuck, not growing, then ask Venus to help you find deeper meaning in your situation. There is purpose to everything in your life.

When you let go of blame, you can open up to your responsibility in creating everything you find in your life, especially the parts you do not like. Venus in Gemini can look at anything from a fresh point of view and allow you to get unstuck. However, this will be easy to the degree that you can accept full responsibility for your personal world.

Mercury turns stationary retrograde on July 4 at 1-2 degrees Leo. It turns direct on July 28 at 21/22 degrees Cancer, with the highlight of this communication cycle coming on July 18 at 25/26 degrees Cancer. This is the process to help our inner child mature.

Mercury turning retro in early Leo will bring up the "what about me" scenarios. We want to burst forth with our creative ideas and see the universe revolve around us. So does everyone else. There will be lessons in realizing everyone is creative and has something to contribute to society. Search for the inner acknowledgements directly from Source rather than attention from others. This is the best way to create a sense of satisfaction for your self.

The beginning of this Mercury retro will ask all of us to listen as those in our lives explain what is important to them. It may not mean much to us; however, it does to them. Take time to listen and give objective feedback. It may not be accepted during the first conversation. There will be multiple chances. We need to let others to do the same for us.

This Mercury retrograde cycle will reverse into Cancer, spending most of its time there. We will find out how well we have been progressing on this self-love journey. Wherever we are projecting outward for another to love us will show up now. Emotional displacements will come out loud and clear. As Mercury backs up through Cancer we get yet another chance to love our self as we would like others to love us.

These Mercury cycles are about learning to give and take in communications, coming to new ways of thinking and processing the details in life. This time it revolves around emotional self-reliance that allows us to become more functional in the world. We learn to create from a deep sense of self rather than looking for security from outer approval. We learn to listen to what the world needs and respond in healthy, versus manipulative, ways. Start taking the time to talk things through, repeatedly if necessary.

Mars makes an opposition to Neptune retrograde on July 5 at 19/20 degrees Leo-Aquarius. Mars-Neptune always asks us to get clear with our desires. Many times this can mean becoming honest in some area of our life. Here we will learn to balance what we desire with what others desire.

Mars likes Leo and right now it has Mercury and Saturn for company. Mars wants to go after whatever excites us. Mercury retro says wait a minute, let's be sure about this. Now Neptune opposes Mars and asks us to be more objective. Look at the larger picture. How will your actions affect others? Do you really want to go in this direction?

Neptune is not saying no, it is asking us to just see beyond our noses. Neptune retro in Aquarius points to Leo. It just wants Mars consider the needs of the whole in balance with individual creative needs. This Mars-Neptune opposition wants inspiration from God/Goddess, asking our creativity to be an expression of Source.

It can also be ego versus soul finding alignment with each other. It is never about destroying ego. It is ego realizing that our soul has the final word, one way or another. It is ego learning to express from the depth of our soul, and creating from those depths. Mars can be quite inspired when it learns to work with Neptune.

Venus makes a waxing square to Uranus retrograde on July 5/6 at 14/15 degrees Gemini-Pisces. Our ideals in love may be exposed for realities that disappoint us and cause us to search for new directions. There can be lessons to start with our feet on the ground and build up from there. We all unconsciously project our needs out into the world to some degree. When the reality checks come along, we need to try again in different ways. How is this happening for you?

Pay attention to how the words in conversations really feel. Mercury just retro may have all of us wanting our own needs met first. That happens when we take care of meeting our own needs instead of making others responsible. Uranus retro in Pisces with Venus in Gemini may have someone promising the Moon. How does that feel? Like truth? Or games to avoid any responsibility? This Venus-Uranus is energy to create love in new ways, and that includes goodbye as maybe the best choice.

Then Jupiter turns stationary direct on July 6 at 9 degrees Scorpio. This is the end of its four-month annual journey which started March 4 at 18/19 degrees Scorpio. It will be quite a busy holiday week. There will seem to be a lot going on, and there is. Jupiter in Scorpio turning direct in the middle of Sun in Cancer will get to the emotional bottom line of our insecurities.

This could also be some of the biggest emotional outbursts during the month. Breathe deep during the weekend leading up to the U.S. birthday (solar return). Yes, you want to find out where you are at emotionally. Just understand that everyone else is doing the same thing. Let the emotions up and out, expressing what you feel. Practice patience in acting upon those emotions busting out, unless it is an understanding you have been reaching over the last few months. In that case, now could be the time to act upon your emotional hits.

Again, Sun in Cancer is about learning emotional self-reliance which means a deeper level of maturity. Jupiter retro in Scorpio through the last four months has been revealing wherever we feel emotionally insecure in our relationship to love and money. Now Sun in Cancer can help out. Mercury retro in early Leo will too.

Jupiter relates to our personal belief systems. Our beliefs around intimate relationships, a strong Scorpio concern, have been evolving. Perhaps this resulted from the rugs ripped out from underneath us in a relating situation. Perhaps we have just realized our own insecurities, and dependencies upon others, and now we intuit a better way to interact.

The energy when a planet turns direct is the big ah ha's, and I get it! Jupiter in Scorpio now allows us to grasp our emotional codependency beliefs and correct them. Mercury, the left-brain, just turned retrograde a few days ago. Now Jupiter, right-brain, has started moving forward again. This is pointing toward intuition deepening, and major emotional understandings coming to the surface.

We live in western societies which are based upon codependency which create victim/victor scenarios. Now is a good time to break free and believe in your self, especially the ability to meet all your own needs. Jupiter is giving you big hits on what is right for you in your relationship situations. Go for it, change things.

How can you go the same thing in your relationship to money? What intuitive ah ha's are you getting right now? If your beliefs are based upon a god outside of you, then security lies outside of you. That creates insecurities around money because it comes from outside of us. Now, with Jupiter turning direct in Scorpio, is an excellent time to evolve your beliefs around resources.

Taurus is the opposite sign of Scorpio and together they manifest our resources like food, clothing, shelter and money. The deepest Taurus-Scorpio lesson is to realize that the ultimate source of everything is the Ultimate Source. Natural laws and principles show us the great Creator is within us as well as everywhere else. Jupiter in Scorpio brings lessons to realize this on deep emotional levels.

When we get this universal truth, then we can become the great co-Creators in every way. We realize it really does come from within us to the degree we merge with our perceptions of God/Goddess. Jupiter stationary direct in Scorpio is a time to metamorphose your relationship to resources and money.

The Sun makes a waxing trine to Uranus retro on July 6 at 14/15 degrees Cancer-Pisces. We can make the effort find deeper understandings to all the emotional growth this month. Uranus retrograde is always bringing whatever we have suppressed up to the surface so listen to the repeated feeling experience. Honor your emotional body and whatever lessons it is creating.

Trines can easily hide things and they can bring beautiful manifestations. We all want to be loved and this aspect can show us how to deeply love our self. Go for it. This Cancer-Pisces trine can also connect us to communion with Source which we all deserve. Be careful of Uranus in Pisces settling for substitutes which we most commonly know as addictions. It is time replace those patterns with the real thing - a deepening relationship to God/Goddess.

Venus makes a waxing trine to Neptune retro on July 9 at 19/20 degrees Gemini-Aquarius. Here is more deep energy with regard to love. In this case it is a tendency to idealize things. Venus and Neptune are lower and higher octaves of love respectively. The air signs make this a communication theme in giving and receiving love.

We can take time to listen and share (Mercury retro) on how we wish to interact in our relationships. This can be listening to the voice deep within you, subtle yet persistent messages about self-love. Pay attention all month long to the feeling of the spoken word. If the feelings do not match what is stated, take it deeper. Most of all honor the feelings over the words. Our emotional body is our guidance system and we have had way too much conditioning at ignoring such.

Mercury retrogrades back into Cancer for another month on July 10. We have another full two weeks of Mercury marching back over the same areas of our charts (life). There are things that need to be revisited with regard to emotional self-reliance and giving and receiving love.

We can take the time to get our home in order. Perhaps spring cleaning still needs to take place, literally and figuratively. Family obligations may be taking up more time. If you find yourself moodier than usual, again, it is a sign that something isn't quite right. Figure it out. Talk it out.

There are new ways you need to look at your home and family situations. There are new ways you need to self love and give/receive love with others. Any planetary retrograde goes over an area of the zodiac (and your life) three times in order to "get it right." This is the beauty of natural laws. We get as many chances/lifetimes as necessary to evolve.

The Full Moon of Capricorn follows a few hours later on July 10 at 18/19 degrees Cancer-Capricorn. Whatever is emotionally busting to the surface can be addressed with a little bit of practicality. Ironically, Moon in Capricorn can calm things down. Breathe deep. One of the archetypes of Cancer-Capricorn is physical, non-sexual touch. It can be extremely healing for souls with a lot of these archetypes. This includes the 4th and 10th houses in a chart as well. It can also open up the ability to communicate with Mercury retro in Cancer. We all respond to safe touch. This is a great month for massages.

This is the annual Full Moon to balance our feminine/masculine energy and refine our gender roles. Men and women are both capable of succeeding in the home and out in the world. Our modern westernized world is blurring those traditional gender roles, how is it happening for you? Boys need to learn how to do the laundry and girls can learn to mow the lawn. Find the balance for you and your family. Revisit household summer chores.

Mars makes a waning trine to Pluto retrograde on July 14 at 24/25 degrees Leo-Sagittarius. Here are the conscious (Mars) and unconscious (Pluto) desires of the soul in a reward phase for those who have been making efforts to achieve their desires. Societal recognition of creativity can take place.

Mars is the leading edge of both our separating and returning desires. The deep desires of the soul (Pluto) are made conscious, and therefore acted upon, via Mars. These two planets always have a special pairing with each other in manifesting our desires.

All trines take whatever energy is flowing, positive and negative, and amp it. We can also easily change the energy when we make the effort. What do you dislike about your life these days? How can you change it? What do you really like about your life? How can you enhance it?

There is power in any Mars-Pluto aspect and this trine can reveal deep understandings about your creative role in society. It is a good time to intuit the best choices for you. It is a time to be as honest as possible with yourself and those you interact with.

Venus makes an opposition to Pluto retro on July 14 as well at 24/25 degrees Gemini-Sagittarius. Venus relates to our essential needs like Mars relates to our desire nature. Whatever we perceive to be our needs then becomes the basis for our desires. This Venus-Pluto opposition can bring up some kind of conflict between our needs and desires.

Here is Mars-Pluto bringing the manifestations of our desires, and Venus asks "Is this really what I want?" Venus gets very clear on what our essential needs (especially in relationships) really are. I thought I wanted this in my life and now I realize I would rather have something else. It can lead to word games and manipulations. Be honest with yourself and others. Ask for truth to be revealed. Make whatever changes necessary to align with that.

Venus can also recognize how deeply we desire to be secure via Pluto. Venus in Gemini would rather go out and have fun. Here is Pluto judging it and saying no. This opposition is a chance to become more self-reliant and trust our ability to meet our own needs. Then we are free to live life as we desire.

Venus makes a waning sextile to Mars on July 14/15 at 25/26 degrees Gemini-Leo. Pluto helps Mars and Venus understand what our evolving relationship needs and desires are. Venus wants fun and yet depth in its relationship to Mars. The waning sextile is about releasing old patterns and realizing what counts.

The end of this solar month brings opportunity to create more meaning and spiritual connection in our relationships. We can be successful to the degree we have addressed our emotional self-reliance through Sun in Cancer. We are always evolving our inner relationship to self, to Source and to others. God/Goddess wants to be a part of all relationships. The meaning of soul mates is two souls in a relationship for the purpose of actualizing their spiritual growth through the relationship. This is a repeating need and desire through these Mars, Venus and Pluto interactions.

The inferior conjunction of Mercury retrograde back over the Sun is July 18 at 25/26 degrees Cancer. This is known as the highlight or time for answers to the Mercury retro cycle. Mercury can achieve better and better emotional understandings and decisions from this point forward.

There may be some big answers coming through. It is time for more, yes more, conversations about the emotional undercurrents in your life. Can you create loving self-talk? How many times can you say "I love you" in the mirror? Can you unconditionally love your self better, saying yes and no as necessary to create better boundaries with others?

If it has been tough in speaking out about sensitive emotional topics up to this point, now is the time. No more procrastinations. Speak up. You will feel soooo much better, and lighter. Strive for emotional peace wherever it takes you.

Venus then enters Cancer for three-plus weeks on July 18 as well. One by one the inner planets Mercury and Venus travel with the Sun, before and after it. Venus follows the Sun and Mercury these days, bringing completion to their annual trek through the zodiac. Venus in Cancer now learns to value the emotions, all of them.

Human conditionings over hundreds, thousands, of years have disassociated us with our emotional bodies. We are taught that only certain emotions can be expressed. Those emotions not approved of are suppressed, crystallizing in the physical body to become dis-eases. Venus in Cancer can teach us to value all the emotions we can feel.

The so-called negative emotions exist to teach us what is going on in the emotional body. Sometimes we want to act upon them to relieve the pain and frustrations. It takes much effort to acknowledge, and express, our emotions without actions that intensify things even more. There is much to learn in healing the emotional body. Each time Venus passes through Cancer we are given the opportunity to value all these emotions, bringing them to the surface to be understood and hopefully healed. There are reasons why you feel the way you do. Make an effort to understand the why.

Finally Mars enters Virgo on July 22 for the next seven weeks. We have had almost two months of Mars in Leo, helping us understand our desire nature. Now Mars begins its own purification process. Mars in Leo was full of self and Mars in Virgo now realizes there are others involved in achieving our desires.

The Leo-Virgo interface is going from the top of the pyramid to the bottom. We cannot expect everyone else to give all their energy and resources to helping us achieve our desires unless we are willing to do the same. Virgo begins the lessons of interacting with others to create Libran equality of giving and receiving.

Mars in Virgo teaches us everyone has a desire nature and a right to go after their own desires. We can choose to see things from a patriarchal perspective of competition and scarcity, or we can realize a matriarchal viewpoint that is that is helpful and giving from a sense of abundance. We also check in to see if that which we desire is really something our souls want, or just an egoic need in the moment.

There are lessons around work for our souls when planets pass through Virgo. In today's world, this tends to end up as workaholism, or proving our worth through how much we can work. It creates lessons of learning to balance work (Virgo) with play (Leo). Both are necessary. May you be successful with both areas.

May God/Goddess bless you through Sun in Cancer!

If this is your first time reading my forecast...I suggest reading the entire forecast to receive an overall impression of the energy for the month, and then refer back to it as things arise. My intent and desire are to help you understand the opportunities for personal changes on emotional, mental and spiritual levels from which manifest the physical reality of your world. I send you blessings for a growing, evolving month!

Please visit www.evolutionaryastrology.net and join our EA email list if you would like to receive a notice when this monthly forecast is posted.

Astrology by Kim Marie
4702 Cliff Drive
Rapid City, SD, 57702-6816
605-348-5111, 877-348-5111
www.astrologybykimmarie.com
www.evolutionaryastrology.net

2005-2006 Jupiter aspects to Saturn, Uranus, Neptune & Pluto
9-17-05 Jupiter waning sextile Pluto 21/22 Libra-Sagittarius (once)
9-22-05 Jupiter waning sesquiquadrate Uranus retro 22/23 Libra - 7/8 Pisces (once)
11-27-05 Jupiter waning trine Uranus 6/7 Scorpio-Pisces
12-7-05 Jupiter waning semi-square Pluto 9 Scorpio - 24 Sagittarius
12-16-05 Jupiter waxing square Saturn 10/11 Scorpio-Leo
1-27-06 Jupiter waning square Neptune 16/17 Scorpio-Aquarius
3-16-06 Jupiter retro waning square Neptune 18/19 Scorpio-Aquarius
5-4-06 Jupiter retro waning trine Uranus 13/14 Scorpio-Pisces
5-31-06 Jupiter retro waning semi-square Pluto retro 10/11 Scorpio - 25/26 Sagittarius
6-22-06 Jupiter retro waxing square Saturn 9/10 Scorpio-Leo
7-24-06 Jupiter waning semi-square Pluto retro 9/10 Scorpio - 24/25 Sagittarius
8-29-06 Jupiter waning trine Uranus retro 13/14 Scorpio-Pisces
9-24-06 Jupiter waning square Neptune retro 17/18 Scorpio-Aquarius
10-25-06 Jupiter waxing square Saturn 23/24 Scorpio-Leo
10-31-06 Jupiter waning semi-sextile Pluto 24/25 Scorpio-Sagittarius (once)

2005-2007 Saturn aspects to Uranus, Neptune & Pluto
9-9-05 Saturn waning sesquiquadrate Pluto 6/7 Leo - 21/22 Sagittarius
9-20-05 Saturn waxing inconjunct Uranus retro 8 Leo-Pisces
1-1-06 Saturn retro waning sesquiquadrate Pluto 9/10 Leo - 24/25 Sagittarius
1-19-06 Saturn retro waxing inconjunct Uranus 8/9 Leo-Pisces
6-29-06 Saturn waning sesquiquadrate Pluto retro 10/11 Leo - 25/26 Sagittarius
7-31-06 Saturn waxing inconjunct Uranus retro 14/15 Leo-Pisces
8-31-06 Saturn opposition Neptune retro 17/18 Leo-Aquarius
2-28-07 Saturn retro opposition Neptune 20/21 Leo-Aquarius
6-25-07 Saturn opposition Neptune retro 21/22 Leo-Aquarius
8-6-07 Saturn waning trine Pluto retro 26/27 Leo-Sagittarius (once)

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